2. Kristaps Porziņģis Will Bring a Boost

The Mavericks don’t actually have to make a trade to receive a boost in their production. They have been playing without Kristaps Porziņģis for the last 10 games and managed to post a 6-4 record during that stretch.

Porziņģis is targeting a return against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday. Both parties have been cautious with his knee and with an illness on top of that, there just hasn’t been a great opportunity for him to return to the lineup until now.

“We’ll probably go that way of being cautious again, not to say, ‘Oh, I’m going to play,’ and all of a sudden something happens,” Porzingis said. “The way I’m feeling, I don’t see why there should be any hurdles. But you never know.”

via Associated Press.

Not having Porziņģis has caused a significant decline in the Mavericks’ defensive execution since he’s their only high-level rim protector. Without him in the lineup recently, they have posted a 113.9 defensive rating (24th) compared to a 107.8 defensive rating (15th) before this period.

What has kept them afloat has been their 118.6 offensive rating (2nd) over the last 10 games. That has been an uptick of 3.6 compared to the 115.0 offensive rating (1st) that was already leading the league by a comfortable margin. Having a 7’3″ big that can hit 3s from the parking lot will only help.

Managing to get Porziņģis back into the lineup might as well count as an acquisition in itself since he’s been sidelined recently. The rest of the team has held down the fort without him by posting a winning record. The Mavericks should only become more potent of a threat with him.